| Summary: | Phosphorylcholine (PC) is a structural component of various pathogens and is involved in bacterial adhesion via the platelet-activating factor receptor (PAF-R). In this study, we investigated how PC expression affects cell adhesion and invasion of <i>Streptococcus pyogenes</i> (<i>S. pyogenes</i>). Eight clinical strains of <i>S. pyogenes</i> were cultured, and PC expression was measured using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Bacterial adherence and invasion were examined using Detroit 562 cells. An anti-PC-specific monoclonal antibody (TEPC-15) was used to inhibit bacterial PC, and a PAF-R antagonist (ABT-491) was used to inhibit cellular PAF-R. The <i>emm</i> gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction with the standard primers. The level of PC expressed on the <i>S. pyogenes</i> surfaces differed in each strain and differed even in the same <i>emm</i> genotype. Adherence assay experiments showed a significant negative correlation between TEPC-15 and ABT-491 inhibitory effects and PC expression in <i>S. pyogenes</i>. Similarly, intracellular invasion assay experiments showed a significant negative correlation between TEPC-15 and ABT-491 inhibitory effects and PC expression in <i>S. pyogenes</i>. This study suggests that <i>S. pyogenes</i> is involved in cell adhesion and invasion by PC.
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